This invention relates generally to the packaging of seeds for vegetables, flowers, herbs and other horticultural products, and more particularly to a carrier card which integrates two or more blister packages for housing seeds that are separable from the carrier card. Though the packages contain seeds of different kinds or varieties, these seeds have compatible properties, so that they may be planted at the same season in a common ground area.
In the conventional gardening procedure for outdoor sowing of seeds to grow flowers, vegetables, herbs and trees, a small hole is made in the soil and one or more seeds is then deposited therein after which the seeds are covered with soil. The depth of the hole and the spacing between adjacent holes depends on the nature of the plant. Thus some plant seeds must be buried close to the surface, while others require deeper holes. Some plants may be raised in close proximity to each other, while others need a wider spacing to allow adequate room for development.
The above procedure is appropriate to large seeded varieties like squash, cucumber, watermelon and cantaloupe. Small seeds are sown in rows with variable spacing between plants and rows, depending upon the kind. In row sowing, the conventional procedure is to dig a narrow trench or row and then sprinkle the small seeds along it. The seeds thereafter are covered with 1/2, 1/4 or 1/8 inch of fine soil, as directed on the seed packet. Seeds that are planted too deeply will rot and never emerge.
There are many other factors which must be taken into account by the gardener, such as the quality of the soil, the degree of sun exposure, the amount of moisture required and the proper season of the year for planting. Since a typical amateur gardener has only a limited ground area available for planting, to make best use of this space, he must be knowledgeable of the various factors which come into play when choosing seeds for his garden.
For example, a gardener who wishes to plant a variety of vegetables in the early summer that will yield a crop in the fall, must be careful to choose vegetable seeds which are compatible with each other in the sense that they can be grown side-by-side in a common area and will mature at about the same time. He would, for example, be ill-advised to plant in an unshaded area the seeds of a vegetable that can tolerate prolonged summer heat next to a vegetable which must be partially shaded to flourish. Moreover, some vegetables thrive best in a rich soil, while others require other soil conditions.
The term "compatibility," as used herein, is not limited to botanical relationships between seeds which make it possible to plant seeds of different kinds or varieties at the same season under like sun and soil conditions, say, in the spring or in the early fall in the northeast region of the United States, but also to aesthetic relationships. Thus in the case of flowers, the color, height of growth and other aesthetic factors must be considered when grouping different flowers together.
Because the choices available to the amateur gardener are ever-increasing, the sensible selection of seeds which are compatible with each other is becoming more difficult. Thus in many modern retail garden outlets, literally thousands of seed packages are on display, each package containing a description of the plant and detailed planting instructions, including the appropriate soil, the sun conditions, the proper time of planting, the depth of the hole, the spacing between the holes or rows and all other factors that must be considered to achieve a successful planting. The typical gardener, faced with so broad a spectrum of seeds and the problem of selecting seeds which are compatible with each other is often thrown into a state of confusion.
The following prior patents are believed relevant to the invention disclosed herein:
Heberline et al.: U.S. Pat. No. 571,521 PA0 Brown: U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,085 PA0 Middleton, Jr.: U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,244 PA0 Siegel: U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,734 PA0 Kesinger: U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,137 PA0 Woolf: U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,746 PA0 Estkowski: U.S. Pat. No. 3,098,321 PA0 Nicolle A.P.C. published application: Ser. No. 206,498